


All the Stars

by IAmStoryteller



Series: TKS Summer Time Fun Event 2020 (June and July) [5]
Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Discord: The Kingdom of Shipping (Dr. STONE), Fluff, M/M, TKS - Summer Break AU, TKSSummerTimeFunEvent2020, TSKEvents, The Kingdom of Shipping Summer Time Fun Event June/July 2020, TheKingdomofShipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25488376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmStoryteller/pseuds/IAmStoryteller
Summary: Senku's summer break gave him an unexpected opportunity.
Relationships: Chrome/Ishigami Senkuu
Series: TKS Summer Time Fun Event 2020 (June and July) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770970
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42
Collections: TKS Summer Time Fun Event (June and July)





	All the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> I thought it was cute.
> 
> Please enjoy.

Senku threw his duffel bag on one of the beds in the economical (read: cheap) hotel where this year’s science retreat was staying. He wondered if all universities were cheap, despite bringing millions, if not, billions of dollars every year from tuition and fees. As a graduate student and soon to be Professor of Theoretical Physics and Astrobiology, Senku still looked forward to the retreat with the other scientists. This year, select junior and senior undergraduates were on the trip.

With a sigh, he began unpacking. He didn’t go overboard, despite it being a two-week retreat. The first time he had been invited was his freshman year as an undergraduate (most unusual, but Senku knew it was because the professors heard of him). Byakuya had been so excited that he over-packed Senku’s three bags. Shaking his head at the memory, the door to the room opened.

“Hi,” said the cheerful younger man, entering the room. “I’m Motomi Chrome, guess we’re roommates for two weeks!” Chrome didn’t have any nervousness energy, he radiated positivity. He had dark brown hair, held up by a headband. 

Senku gave a grin at the cute underclassman. “Ishigami Senku. Nice to meet you, Chrome.”

Chrome smiled. He put his bag on the other open bed. “I’m really glad that they didn’t shove us in a room with three other people.”

Snorting, Senku said, “You must have suffered Xeno’s spring break retreat, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Chrome, shuddering at the memory. 

“Xeno’s a menace,” said Senku, rolling his eyes. He was so happy that Xeno worked with undergraduates and not the graduate students. Senku couldn’t stand his fellow genius. “So, a junior or senior?”

“Junior,” said Chrome, opening his bag to unpack. “I’m in the geosciences department.”

“Awesome, it’s rare to meet anyone interested in geosciences,” said Senku. “I’m a graduate student, theoretical physics and astrobiology, but that’s only my focus of my dissertation. I like all the sciences.”

“I’m planning on going to graduate school for specifically geophysics and geology,” said Chrome, nodding. Then, Chrome gasped, “Wait, you’re THE Ishigami Senku? The super-genius?”

Chrome’s incredulity made Senku burst into laughter. “Half the stuff people say about me is overly exaggerated. But I am a super genius.”

“So, you didn’t build a rocket in middle school?” Chrome sounded disappointed0

“Oh, I did,” said Senku. Chrome looked at him as if he was super impressed by Senku. Senku knew that he had a big ego, but he wasn’t as much as an asshole as some people. He didn’t want to make a bad impression on Chrome. “So, what got you into science?”

Chrome flushed. “Ah, I used to collect rocks. Then I discovered that some minerals changed fire’s colors, like magic. The next time we went to the big town some miles away from the library, I looked up how it happened.”

“That’s awesome,” said Senku. “I got into science because the stars fascinated me as a boy. My dream is to go to space.”

“What a cool dream,” said Chrome, smiling appreciatively. “My dream is to protect the world’s natural resources.”

Senku liked Chrome’s earnestness. “An admirable dream. And an extremely difficult one.”

Before they continued their conversation, there was a loud knock-knock at the door to their hotel room. Someone yelled, “Senku, Chrome, we’ve been waiting for you guys for ten minutes! Get your asses in gear!”

Senku looked at his phone and realized that they were supposed to meet up with the group for the first trek out to the beachfront. He and Chrome had gotten caught up in talking that they even forgot to finish unpacking. “Oops. Let’s go.”

Chrome laughed.

They rushed out of the room and down the stairs to find the group of 15 students and three professors waiting for them. Dr. Xeno raised an eyebrow and commented, “Oh, dear Senku finally graces us with his presence. Chrome dear, you shouldn’t spend too much time with him, he’s a bad influence.”

Senku went to retort something, but Chrome got to it first, “Thanks for the concern, Dr. Xeno, but the last time I checked, I was a grown adult and can make my own decisions about who I befriend.”

There were some snickers and snorts from their fellow students. Before anyone got more irritated, Senku said, “So, aren’t we supposed to go to see the horrors of coastal erosion?”

_~_~_~_~_~_~

Chrome was having the time of his life. He had been surprised when he had gotten picked to join the usually graduate-only summer science retreat. But he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Meeting the one and only Ishigami Senku had been a real surprise. Of course, Chrome knew he was the moment Senku introduced himself, but Chrome didn’t want to come off as a fanboy. 

Senku was way cooler and way nicer than Chrome ever expected. His reputation on campus didn’t do Senku justice. It was an affront! Since Chrome was in the geosciences as an undergraduate, he couldn’t find time to go to any of the graduate presentations that Senku did in his fields of study. Chrome’s advisor, Dr. Xeno, wasn’t the biggest fan of Senku either, so Chrome didn’t want to piss off his advisor.

Except when Chrome did meet Senku, Chrome didn’t give a damn about whether or not Dr. Xeno was happy about it or not. 

It was why he stood by Senku when the group went to the beachfront to get a lecture on coastal erosion. Dr. Ibara was the lecturer for this particular subject. Why were the other departments’ professors normal and Chrome got the weirdos? The old man’s lectures tended to turn into rants, which Chrome learned to tune out.

“As if I haven’t read everything on the subject already,” muttered Chrome. Coastal erosion was the topic of his undergraduate thesis. He honestly just wanted to check out the sediments and rocks.

“Oh, same,” said Senku, amused, softly. 

Chrome smiled. Of course, someone as brilliant as Senku knew so much. Senku did say that he liked all areas of science, despite focusing on two areas. “It doesn’t help that human developments make things worse.”

“Yeah, the more dam and port construction without abandon makes it worse,” said Senku. “Many people didn’t understand or didn’t care that once the erosion happened, there was no way to reverse it, only slow it down.”

Chrome nodded, “Part of my thesis is how to educate the ordinary population that this is a serious issue and the efforts to slow it down need to be amped up.”

“I’d like to read what you wrote so far,” said Senku. He grinned. 

“Sure.”

“Hey! Can you two stop flirting,” yelled Dr. Ibara.

“Oh shut up, old man,” countered Senku.

Chrome got a little embarrassed but since Senku wasn’t too embarrassed, he wasn’t going to worry about it. He, after all, got to hang out with Senku and that was just the best, who cared what anyone else thought?

_~_~_~_~_~_~

Okay, so Senku was smitten and he had no regrets.

Senku wasn’t much for romance, but Chrome made him reconsider his stance. Chrome was cute, intelligent and passionate. He was kind too. And even better, Chrome didn’t mind when Senku went on a science lecture. Instead he listened and learned and that fact only made Senku’s heart skip a beat. Over the last few days, Senku had someone that didn’t think that Senku was a know-it-all like his other classmates.

His friends were never going to let him hear of the end of this, if Senku didn’t ask Chrome out on a date before this science retreat was up. He made the mistake of texting Taiju, who told Yuzuriha, who told Gen and then Gen told Tsukasa. His four friends insisted that Senku take a chance to ask him out. And of course, Gen mocked him relentlessly, reminding Senku of all the time he said that he wasn’t interested in romantic relationships because science was his one true love.

So, Senku came up with a plan, not his best planning, but still it was a plan. After dinner with the group, Senku asked Chrome if he wanted to stargazing, since Senku brought a small telescope with him. Chrome, thankfully, agreed, and after sunset, the two went off on their own without the group. 

The beach at night was much quieter than in the daytime. The shone brilliantly in the sky, as Senku set up his telescope.

“You really do want to go to space,” stated Chrome, as they sat on the beach sand. 

“Yeah, I do,” admitted Senku.

“In my home village, we can see the stars much clearer than here,” said Chrome. “It truly is in the middle of nowhere, though.”

“It’s where you got all your cool rocks,” said Senku, laughing lightly. “I’d like to see the stars from your village sometime.”

Chrome looked surprised, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. “Yeah? I’d like to show you.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, when Senku offered Chrome a chance to look through the telescope. “Here, take a look.

Chrome shifted, so that he was closer and looked. “This is a nice telescope.”

“My dad bought it for me when I got my undergrad degree,” said Senku. “He was an astronaut, the one who taught me about space and science.”

“Sounds like a cool dad,” said Chrome.

“Hah, sometimes,” said Senku, grinning at the thought of Byakuya being called “cool.” Then, Senku started to tell Chrome about how Byakuya became an astronaut in the first place. Senku’s own nervousness made him avoid why he asked Chrome out to stargaze in the first place.

Chrome laughed. “I don’t know, your dad sounds pretty cool to me.”

“You can always come over and meet him,” said Senku. “It'll give him an ego boost and he’ll never shut up about it.”

“If it wouldn’t be a bother, I’d love to,” said Chrome.

“And maybe after, I can take you on a date,” asked Senku, looking at the sky through his telescope so that Chrome wouldn’t notice how embarrassed Senku was feeling. Chrome grabbed one of Senku’s hands and squeezed it.

“Yeah, I’d like that even more,” replied Chrome. Chrome’s smile was the best sight in the world, even more than all the stars.

~fin

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think!


End file.
